30 Jun Cultivating Humility

Last Sunday, Pastor Ken Lewis preached from James 3:13-18 and taught us how to discern between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom.

Read: James 4:1-12

This Sunday, Pastor Jason Finley will preach from James 4:1-12 and will show us that God purposes to use our conflict to reveal our sinful pride and lead us to humble restoration. As you prepare for our Sunday gathering, let this devotional from Milton Vincent freshly point you to the pride-crushing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Reflect: “Cultivating Humility”

According to Scripture, God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way so as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatsoever (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 1:27-29). This is actually a wonderful mercy from God, for pride is at the root of all my sin. Pride produced the first sin in the Garden (Genesis 3:4-6), and pride always precedes every sinful stumbling in my life (Proverbs 16:18). Therefore, if I am to experience deliverance from sin, I must be delivered from the pride that produces it. Thankfully, the gospel is engineered to accomplish this deliverance.

Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own Son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell I deserve.

Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel; and the more pride is mortified within me, the less frequent are my moments of sinful contention with God and with others (Proverbs 13:10). Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere of the gospel, and the more humility flourishes within me, the more I experience God’s grace (James 4:6) along with the strengthening His grace provides (Hebrews 13:9). Additionally, such humility intensifies my passion for God and causes my heart increasingly to thrill whenever He is praised (Psalm 34:2).

“Cultivating Humility,” in A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Milton Vincent

Sing: Song List for Sunday

1. “He Is Our God,” by Sovereign Grace Music
2. “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery,” by Matt Boswell
3. “Forgiven,” by Sovereign Grace Music
4. “Jesus, There’s No One Like You,” by Sovereign Grace Music
5. “Come Ye Sinners,” Arr. Vertical Worship